from scratch or homemade…

I’ve talked a lot on here about my “from scratch” philosophy. I don’t want to buy other people’s cooking and use it for my food. I want to make it all myself. And so I have always thought of that as “from scratch”. I often check myself to see if I am being a pretentious so and so, especially considering that I now write down my thoughts and let other people read them. So I have been churning this over in my mind: is “from scratch” a real thing or should I have been saying “homemade” all along?

The trouble with the word “homemade” is it feels a bit provincial, a little bit stay-at-home mom, and that’s the opposite of me. Somehow I believe I’m a cut above dusty jars with handwritten labels and Victoria sponge cakes. So I find myself in a dilemma… What kind of cook am I? From scratch or homemade?

This question kind of answered itself yesterday. As you may have noticed, Handsome and I are all about making our own whatever, from cheese, to beer, to bread, to wine. It’s a lifestyle we are starting to embrace more and more each day. And the more we embrace it, the more we talk about it with our friends and the more we realize that everyone else is embracing that lifestyle too.

I was talking with a work buddy of mine, Mr Marcus, and we were expounding on the joys of home brew. I showed him my photos from the other night with feverish excitement and he let slip something that blew my mind.

Mr Marcus told me that his friends made their own wine for their wedding, all of it! And he made all of the beer for his wedding, all of it! And someone else made the cider! That takes my philosophy to a whole new level!

Now, between you and me, every little girl dreams of how her wedding will be and pictures the dress and the flowers and all that jazz. Well, not this little girl. This girl has always dreamed of catering her own wedding, and what I would cook for my guests… Think about it folks, if I don’t like eating out, because I think I cook better than most chefs in restaurants, why would I let someone else cook at the most important party I ever have???

Now, we have to be honest, I have reached the grand old age of thirty-six without one single offer and despite being in a relationship, the fervor of little girl wedding planning is long gone, but at some point in my future, there could be a wedding (why not? Don’t look at me like that!) and just imagine if I catered the whole thing myself, including the alcohol!

Actually, sod it! Forget the wedding, let’s all just brew up a ton of alcohol, with the aim of having the best summer party ever! We could do a hog roast, more BBQey things, I could do a bunch of gorgeous summer salads and breads, and we could serve HOMEMADE beer, and wine, and CIDER! I can’t even explain the excitement this brings me. I do wonder if I am exactly the same as all those other people that I look slightly down on, people like train spotters, or plane spotters, or stamp collectors…

Previously I couldn’t believe anyone could get that excited about what I consider to be mind numbing subjects, but maybe that is the same as my interest here. Maybe no one else cares about brewing your own beer for a party. But that CANNOT be possible! Everyone loves eating. Everyone loves drinking. And everyone loves novelty! What could be more novel than brewing parties… come and make your own parties… then come back in a couple of months to try what you brewed parties…

I’m onto something here. I see some serious fun in our future. And I have decided to look more kindly on our nerdy collector and spotter friends. They have a passion, they are not afraid to show it. And I have a passion and I’m not afraid to show it. And if the end result of my passion is something that my friends can try and enjoy, then I’m onto a winner… Must go and buy more brew materials…

Thanks for the follow on Twitter, I stopped by your blog this morning, and found this post. I tend to use the terms ‘homemade’ and ‘from scratch’ interchangeably, too! My blog focuses on baking from scratch, and my goal is to bake with the fewest amount of ingredients possible, all easy to pronounce, no guesswork, with ingredients that are fresh and readily available in most grocery stores. That doesn’t mean that it’s all healthy (hello butter and sugar) and it doesn’t mean it’s not time consuming (hello bread baking). But it’s ‘homemade’ because I made it in my kitchen, and it’s ‘from scratch’ because I mostly use simple ingredients, not prepackaged products. Granted, I may use a pre made cookie for a pie crust or layering in a trifle, which is why I sometimes feel like I need to use one term or the other! I wish I knew if I was using the terms correctly, but I really have no idea! I just like good food!